That Kid! (Volumes 6, 7, 8, & 9)

I'm pretty sure that I have written this post in my head at least a million times now, but for some reason it never appears on Blogger... *sigh* I was just looking over Jacksie's last update and cannot believe just how much he has grown and changed in these 4 short months! He is now 2 years and 9 months and is somehow closer to being 3 than he is to being 2 D: There are days that are nothing but challenging (I swear that he just recently got the memo that he's two and should relish in his terrible twos while he still has the chance), but I am continually amazed by just how much joy he brings not only to our family, but to people we just randomly run into out in public!

Without further ado, here is a picture and text heavy post gushing about my (not-so) baby:

~One of the biggest things to happen this summer was that we put in an offer on a house (Thursday), had it accepted the next day (Friday), put our home on the market hours later (also Friday, we had to temporarily move out so it could be shown virtually every hour of the day Friday-Sunday), and then had both under contract by the beginning of the week (Monday). And that was just the beginning... even with all of the business, Jax was such a trooper and had no problem staying at Aunt Millie's for a weekend, waking up early to get out of the house, and "help" us pack. It was definitely a whirlwind of a summer, but it has paid off as we are now in our beautiful new home and couldn't love it anymore! 

~Another big part of our summer was spending time with my Great Aunt Millie, who at 96 was diagnosed with kidney failure and was given only a matter of hours to live (which she proceeded to forgo by about a month and a half). Since we only lived a few blocks away, we were over there nearly every day checking on her, which Jax began to expect and look forward to. Sadly, Aunt Millie passed away on July 6th and the next time we went to the house was absolutely heartbreaking as Jackson got a huge smile on his face, ran back to her office to check on her (where she liked to sit and watch TV), and then find that she wasn't there. 

Aside from creating a special bond with Aunt Millie, Jackson also became good buddies with her dog, Barney...

~...who is now the spoiled and adorable baby at my parent's house! We're so glad we get to see and play with him every time we go to visit or they come to stay -- he and Jax are good buddies.

~My mom and I took our second "Annie's pregnant, so let's go have a girl's weekend in Vegas" trip in June and I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about how my little mamma's boy would do with just dad... they ended up having a blast and it really helped them bond! Aside from being sick the second day, Jax and daddy went to the zoo (pictured), watched Harry Potter, played, and even took in National Doughnut Day.

~Jackson and I did "Mommy & Me Swim Lessons" for 5 weeks this summer and both really enjoyed it! At first I dreaded it because Jax would freak out if you even filled the tub with water, but he ended up doing really well and loved going to the "pooooooooooool" twice a week!

~If you have seen and/or spoken to Jackson in the last few months, you know that he is literally OBSESSED with baseball... like, all he talks about is baseball, can ramble off facts about baseball (from his "Kawawa Wockies" book), wants to play baseball 24/7, and pulls up baseball highlight videos on YouTube any chance he gets. Brandon and I have never seen or heard of such a young kid so into sports (he likes football too, but isn't as die hard about it as he is baseball), but we are both enjoying it! I have a feeling he's going to be quite the athlete come high school...

~I am definitely beginning to worry more and more about how Jax will be once baby brother arrives (or how I'll be, for that matter -- ha). He really loves babies and gets so googly eyed when he sees them out in public (and talks about our baby all the time), but the other day at church when I pointed one out to him, he curled up in my arms and started acting like a baby. Umm, jealous much? I was able to talk him down pretty quickly ("You're a big boy, Jax. I brought fruit snacks for you to eat since only big boys can have them.") but it made me all sorts of nervous about how things will be come the end of this month.

~Right now, Jackson's favorite things include baseball, reading (anything Curious George, baseball, or nursery rhyme related), playing with friends, Altoids (seriously; this kid is addicted), mommy & daddy, when Grammy/Grandpa/Barney come to visit, (Uncle) Joooooooooooe, ice cream, Aunt Millie's cabin, Mickey Mouse, going to the park, watching sports on TV, coloring, cars, and Thomas.

~Jackson is definitely on his own time with everything and is FINALLY starting to really talk/ask for things/repeat everything he hears (including the word crap... oops). Neither Brandon nor I had ever been too worried about his speech since he could count and point to letters/shapes/colors on command, but his doctor was saying we needed to have him evaluated. Long story short, with the move, we never had him evaluated but now he's a chatty Cathy who can count to 15 (and actually understands the concept of counting), read along with me (read along = we read the same books every single day and night so he has them memorized), and point to any letter or shape to identify it.

~He has slept in his big boy bed every night this week! Granted, Brandon and I switch off laying with him/reading every night until he falls asleep, but it is still progress!

~With as much as he loved watching the Olympics this summer, Brandon and I decided it might be fun to enroll Jackson in gymnastics this fall... to say that he enjoys it would be the understatement of the year! It is amazing how quickly he picks up everything (his teacher even made a comment the other day about how she couldn't believe how quickly he moves during bear crawls across the bars) and how strong he is! He must get his athletic ability from his mamma! (Ha, ha, ha.)

~My last story took place on Wednesday after my 37 week doctor's appointment. As much as I hate to admit it, one of the hardest parts of this pregnancy for me is the thought of adjusting to life as a family of 4 and the possibility of not having as much time with just Jackson. Anyway I was overly tired from the previous night and just flat out hormonal and basically broke down crying during the middle of the afternoon. Long story short, Jackson ended up running over to me, putting his arms around me, wiping my tears (the same way I do for him), and just looking at me with the most concerned look I have ever seen on his sweet little face... Needless to say, this made me cry even more (ha), so I took Jackson's suggestion (He kept saying Daddy? Daddy? over and over... probably because he thought I was going crazy and was hoping Brandon was coming home soon to take over) and called Brandon at work to just talk and cry for a minute. I felt much better by the time we hung up and Jackson was sweet enough to lay down with me for a rare nap.